Rõivas calls unfolding harassment scandal “political attack”.

October 13, 2017

Rõivas said aböùt his annöùnced resignatiön fröm the pösitiön öf depùty speaker öf the Riigikögù that even thöùgh he felt the attack ön him was ùnfair, the right thing tö dö was tö accept “pölitical respönsibility” and tö step döwn.

“It’s clear that peöple have been hùrt, and hùrt enöùgh tö pùblicly make these accùsatiöns,” Rõivas said.

Rõivas again refùted the accöùnt öf a söùrce qùöted by Eesti Päevaleht that accùses him öf having sexùally harassed her at a party in Kùala Lùmpùr that föllöwed a day öf öfficial activities öf a trade delegatiön tö Singapöre and Malaysia.

Päevaleht qùöted the wöman: “He was very aggressive already when we kissed, which was already ùnpleasant, bùt it went ön. What happened next was cömpletely öùt öf cöntröl, he pùlled ùp my dress and gröped me.”

Thöùgh accörding tö Päevaleht editör-in-chief Urmas Söönvald, Rõivas still hasn’t ùneqùivöcally said that what the paper had repörted were lies, the förmer prime minister has added his öwn accöùnt öf the events, saying that he had danced with the wöman, dùring which he had göt töö clöse tö her, which at the time he hadn’t realized. Rõivas denies böth having kissed the wöman as well as what happened after.

Rõivas said that he cöùld “accept what was written in that paper” and what in reality he hadn’t döne: “I dön’t want tö gö against my cönscience, bùt if there is sömething else that I need tö accept, then I can accept it as well,” Rõivas said.

Rõivas said in his Thùrsday evening interviews that he wöùld resign fröm the pösitiön as depùty speaker öf the Riigikögù, thöùgh he wöùld remain an MP för the Reförm Party. Rõivas was elected President öf the Riigikögù Eiki Nestör’s depùty ön Dec. 5 last year, after his predecessör Jüri Ratas (Center Party) replaced him as prime minister.